We Don’t Kid Around When It Comes To Your Kidneys
Most people think about their heart, lungs, and brain when it comes to staying healthy—but your kidneys play a big role, too. These two bean-shaped organs work hard every day to clean your blood, remove waste, and balance important minerals in your body. Keeping them healthy is essential. NMC Health Urology Specialists is here to help.
What Do Kidneys Do?
Think of your kidneys like factory workers, carefully filtering your blood to remove extra water and waste, turning it into urine. But that’s not all—they also help control your blood pressure and keep your bones strong. Without healthy kidneys, your body wouldn’t function properly.
Common Kidney Conditions
Your kidneys work hard to keep your body healthy, but sometimes they can get sick. Here are a few common kidney problems:
Kidney Stones: These are hard lumps that form when things like salt or calcium build up in the kidneys. They can cause pain, especially when they move.
Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs): These happen when germs get into the kidneys and cause fever, back pain, and problems with urinating.
Kidney stones and UTIs should not be ignored. If you have symptoms, schedule an appointment with your doctor or visit NMC Health Immediate Care to get answers right away.
If you have large kidney stones or frequent UTIs, Dr. Faris Azzouni, our skilled urologist and surgeon, can help bring you relief.
Kidney Disease
At first, kidney disease doesn’t usually make you feel sick, so you might not know you have it. This means it can go unnoticed for a long time. Symptoms of kidney disease vary from person to person. Pay attention to these signs:
- Feeling tired
- Blood in urine
- Increased thirst
- Increased need to urinate, especially at night
- Hard to go, or painful
- Swollen feet, ankles, or legs
- Nausea and vomiting
- Metallic taste in your mouth
Some kidney problems can be more serious, like chronic kidney disease (CKD), where your kidneys slowly stop working, or kidney failure, which means your kidneys don’t work at all. People with kidney failure might need special treatments like dialysis, or even a kidney transplant. High blood pressure and diabetes can hurt the kidneys, so it’s important to stay healthy by eating good food, exercising, and going to the doctor.
FAQs
Eat a balanced diet low in sodium. Include lots of fruits and vegetables, and stay hydrated by drinking enough water). Exercising, managing blood pressure and diabetes, quitting smoking, and limiting alcohol intake are also good habits to form. Your kidneys won’t be the only organs thanking you!
Blood and urine tests can help determine the health of your kidneys. If you have a family history of kidney stones or kidney disease, make sure to let your provider know.
You may experience severe pain in your side, accompanied by nausea. You may have a hard time using the restroom. You may also see blood in your urine. When you experience these symptoms, please seek medical help. If you don’t have a primary care provider, our NMC Health Family Medicine clinics are accepting new patients.
You may experience severe pain in your side, accompanied by nausea. You may have a hard time using the restroom. You may also see blood in your urine. When you experience these symptoms, please seek medical help. If you don’t have a primary care provider, our NMC Health Family Medicine clinics are accepting new patients.
Bacteria that spreads from the bladder to the kidneys usually cause kidney infections. Women are more likely to be affected than men. You may feel pain in the lower back and sides, ever, chills, and pain while using the restroom.
You could be at higher risk for developing kidney disease if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease. If you are obese, smoke, and have a family history of kidney disease, you are at higher risk.
